Meshless solution of two-dimensional incompressible flow problems using the radial basis integral equation method

The two-dimensional incompressible fluid flow problems governed by the velocity–vorticity formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations were solved using the radial basis integral (RBIE) equation method. The RBIE is a meshless method based on the multi-domain boundary element method with overlapping subdomains. It solves at each node for the potential and its spatial derivatives. This feature of the RBIE is advantageous in solving the velocity–vorticity formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations since the calculated velocity gradients can be used to compute the vorticity that is prescribed as a boundary condition to the vorticity transport equation. The accuracy of the numerical solution was examined by solving the test problem with known analytical solution. Two benchmark problems, i.e. the lid driven cavity flow and the thermally driven cavity flow were also solved. The numerical results obtained using the RBIE showed very good agreement with the benchmark solutions.     

Stokes flow in closed,rectangular domains

Three practically relevant, Stokes flows in closed, rectangular cavities are considered. The first involves a solid-walled cavity where flow is driven by the motion of either one or both of its horizontal bounding walls; the other two have an upper free surface and are driven either by the motion of vertical side walls or by a horizontally-moving lower wall. Each problem is formulated as a biharmonic boundary value problem (bvp) for the streamfunction. The relative merits of two different coefficient determination methods for the corresponding analytical solutions are assessed and, in addition, each solution is compared with its numerical counterpart obtained using a finite element formulation of the governing equations. It is shown that, provided the number N of terms in each solution is sufficiently large, they are in extremely good agreement and, similarly, they compare well with work from other published theoretical and experimental studies. Streamlines are presented, over a wide range of operating parameters, for the geometries containing an upper free surface. For the flow generated by two moving vertical side walls two flow transformation mechanisms are identified. For cavities with small and decreasing width to depth (aspect) ratios, there is a sequence of critical aspect ratios at which flow bifurcations arise with a centre becoming a saddle point and vice versa, whereas for large aspect ratios increasing the ratio further leads to eddy growth from the lower wall, resulting in a regular sequence of separatrices along the cavity width. In the case of flow generated by a horizontally-moving lower wall the streamlines are simpler and exhibit the regular array of separatrices reported previously for flow in a solid-walled cavity with a single moving wall.     

High Hartmann number flow through a rectangular duct with unequally and finitely conducting walls

Nonsymmetric Hartmann flow through a rectangular duct is investigated for thin duct walls with, generally, unequal but finite conductivities. A high Hartmann number is adopted. Consistent with known phenomena, both Hartmann layers transverse to the applied magnetic field are assumed to be separated from the two side boundary layers by four corner regions plus four inner corner regions. The method of singular perturbations and matched asymptotic expansions is applied to the coupled system. The equations governing the core and Hartmann layers are first partially resolved for leading terms. This is then followed by tackling equations governing one side layer and two adjacent corner regions. The latters' incorporation secures, for the former, only those boundary conditions that are compatible along the transverse walls. Both corner regions are denied access to non-required boundary conditions along the neighbouring side wall by the adjoining inner corner regions. However, the latters' boundary value problems need not be tackled for the acquirement of only dominant terms beyond all four inner corner regions. The complementary side layer and associated corners are accounted for by a non-symmetric reflection principle. Results reveal that a difference between conductivities in the transverse walls together with at least one finitely conducting side wall impart to disturbances within the core and Hartmann layers (i) a nontrivial dependence on the transverse coordinate relative to the magnetic field and flow in addition to the (usual) dependence on the field aligned coordinate, (ii) a dependence on side wall parameters in addition to the dependence on transverse wall parameters. Applications to related situations are considered. These include the case for a perfectly conducting lower wall, a finitely conducting upper wall, and equally and finitely conducting side walls.     

A benchmark solution for 2D Stokes flow over cavity

Two-dimensional Stokes flow in a half plane with coupled cavity having the form of semi-ellipse is considered. The exact solution for the boundary problem is obtained. The solution can be a benchmark for numerical approaches. An example of the benchmarking is given.     

A combined BIE-FE method for the Stokes equations

A numerical algorithm for the biharmonic equation in domainswith piecewise smooth boundaries is presented. It is intendedfor problems describing the Stokes flow in the situations whereone has corners or cusps formed by parts of the domain boundaryand, due to the nature of the boundary conditions on these partsof the boundary, these regions have a global effect on the shapeof the whole domain and hence have to be resolved with sufficientaccuracy. The algorithm combines the boundary integral equationmethod for the main part of the flow domain and the finite-elementmethod which is used to resolve the corner/cusp regions. Twoparts of the solution are matched along a numerical ‘internalinterface’ or, as a variant, two interfaces, and theyare determined simultaneously by inverting a combined matrixin the course of iterations. The algorithm is illustrated byconsidering the flow configuration of ‘curtain coating’,a flow where a sheet of liquid impinges onto a moving solidsubstrate, which is particularly sensitive to what happens inthe corner region formed, physically, by the free surface andthe solid boundary. The ‘moving contact line problem’is addressed in the framework of an earlier developed interfaceformation model which treats the dynamic contact angle as partof the solution, as opposed to it being a prescribed functionof the contact line speed, as in the so-called ‘slip models’.     

Leak identification in a saturated unsteady flow via a Cauchy problem

In this initial study, we propose a numerical method for identifying multiple leak zones in a saturated unsteady flow. Using the conventional saturated groundwater flow equation, the leak identification problem is modeled as a Cauchy problem for the heat equation and the aim is to find the regions on the boundary of the solution domain where the solution vanishes because the leak zones correspond to null pressure values. This problem is ill-posed and to reconstruct the solution in a stable way, we modify it and employ a previously proposed iterative regularizing method. In this method, mixed well-posed problems obtained by changing the boundary conditions are solved for the heat operator as well as for its adjoint to obtain a sequence of approximations to the original Cauchy problem. The mixed problems are solved using a finite element method and the numerical results indicate that the leak zones can be identified with the proposed method.     

On a new analytical method for flow between two inclined walls

Efficient analytical methods for solving highly nonlinear boundary value problems are rare in nonlinear mechanics. The purpose of this study is to introduce a new algorithm that leads to exact analytical solutions of nonlinear boundary value problems and performs more efficiently compared to other semi-analytical techniques currently in use. The classical two-dimensional flow problem into or out of a wedge-shaped channel is used as a numerical example for testing the new method. Numerical comparisons with other analytical methods of solution such as the Adomian decomposition method (ADM) and the improved homotopy analysis method (IHAM) are carried out to verify and validate the accuracy of the method. We show further that with a slight modification, the algorithm can, under certain conditions, give better performance with enhanced accuracy and faster convergence.     

Numerical study of the flow in a three-dimensional thermally driven cavity

Solutions for the fully compressible Navier–Stokes equations are presented for the flow and temperature fields in a cubic cavity with large horizontal temperature differences. The ideal-gas approximation for air is assumed and viscosity is computed using Sutherland's law. The three-dimensional case forms an extension of previous studies performed on a two-dimensional square cavity. The influence of imposed boundary conditions in the third dimension is investigated as a numerical experiment. Comparison is made between convergence rates in case of periodic and free-slip boundary conditions. Results with no-slip boundary conditions are presented as well. The effect of the Rayleigh number is studied.     

Application of homotopy analysis method for natural convection of Darcian fluid about a vertical full cone embedded in pours media prescribed surface heat flux

In this paper, a powerful analytical method, called homotopy analysis method (HAM) is used to obtain the analytical solution for a nonlinear ordinary deferential equation that often appear in boundary layers problems arising in heat and mass transfer which these kinds of the equations contain infinity boundary condition. The boundary layer approximations of fluid flow and heat transfer of vertical full cone embedded in porous media give us the similarity solution for full cone subjected to surface heat flux boundary conditions. Nonlinear ODE which is obtained by similarity solution has been solved through homotopy analysis method (HAM). The main objective is to propose alternative methods of solution, which do not require small parameters and avoid linearization and physically unrealistic assumptions. The obtained analytical solution in comparison with the numerical ones represents a remarkable accuracy. The results also indicate that HAM can provide us with a convenient way to control and adjust the convergence region.     

Kinetic analysis of the isothermal flow in a long rectangular microchannel

The linearized kinetic BGK model is used to study the steady Poiseuille flow of a rarefied gas in a long channel of rectangular cross section. The solution is constructed using the finite-volume method based on a TVD scheme. The basic computed characteristic is the mass flow rate through the channel. The effect of the relative width of the cross section is examined, and the difference of the solution from the one-dimensional flow between infinite parallel plates is analyzed. The numerical solution is compared to available results and to the analytical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations with no-slip and slip boundary conditions. The limits of applicability of the hydrodynamic solution are established depending on the degree of rarefaction of the flow and on the ratio of the side lengths of the channel cross section.     

Exact analytical solution of a generalized multiple moving boundary model of one-dimensional non-Darcy flow in heterogeneous multilayered low-permeability porous media with a threshold pressure gradient

A nonlinear generalized multiple moving boundary model of one-dimensional non-Darcy flow in heterogeneous multilayered low-permeability porous media with a threshold pressure gradient is constructed, in which the total rate of fluid injection into the porous media remains constant. The number of layers in the model can be arbitrary, and thus the generalized model will be very suitable for describing the one-dimensional non-Darcy flow characteristics in low-permeability reservoirs with strong heterogeneity. Through the similarity transformation method, the exact analytical solution of the multiple moving boundary model is obtained, and the formula for the subrate of fluid injection into every layer is provided. Moreover, it is strictly proved that the exact analytical solution can reduce to the solution of Darcy flow as the threshold pressure gradient in different layers simultaneously tends to zero. Through the exact analytical solution, the effects of the layer threshold pressure gradient, the layer permeability ratio, and the layer elastic storage ratio on the moving boundaries, the spatial pressure distributions, the transient pressure, and the layer subrate in low-permeability porous media are discussed. Through comparison of the exact analytical solutions, it is also demonstrated that incorporation of the multiple moving boundary conditions is very necessary in the modeling of non-Darcy flow in heterogeneous multilayered porous media with a threshold pressure gradient, especially when the threshold pressure gradient is large. In particular, an explicit formula is presented for estimating the relative error of the transient pressure introduced by ignoring the moving boundaries in the modeling. All in all, solid theoretical foundations are provided for non-Darcy flow problems in stratified reservoirs with a threshold pressure gradient. They can be very useful for strictly verifying numerical simulation results, and for giving some guidance for project design and optimization of layer production or injection during the development of heterogeneous low-permeability reservoirs and heavy oil reservoirs so as to enhance oil recovery.     

A global meshless collocation particular solution method (integrated Radial Basis Function) for two-dimensional Stokes flow problems

A global version of the Method of Approximate Particular Solutions (MAPS) is developed to solve two-dimensional Stokes flow problems in bounded domains. The velocity components and the pressure are approximated by a linear superposition of particular solutions of the non-homogeneous Stokes system of equations with a Multiquadric Radial Basis Function as forcing term. Although, the continuity equation is not explicitly imposed in the resulting formulation, the scheme is mass conservative since the particular solutions exactly satisfy the mass conservation equation. The present scheme is validated by comparing the obtained numerical result with the analytical solution of two boundary value problems constructed from the Stokeson exterior fundamental solution, i.e. regular everywhere except at infinity. For these two cases, convergence of the method and the influence of the value of the Multiquadric’s shape parameter on the numerical results are studied by computing the relative Root Mean Square (RMS) error for several homogeneous distributions of collocation points and values of the shape parameter. From this analysis is observed that the proposed MAPS results are stable and accurate for a wide range of shape parameter values. In addition, the lid-driven cavity and backward-facing step flow problems are solved and the obtained results compared with the solutions found with more conventional numerical schemes, showing good agreement between them.     

HAM solutions for boundary layer flow in the region of the stagnation point towards a stretching sheet

In the present study, we have described the stagnation point flow of a viscous fluid towards a stretching sheet. The complete analytical solution of the boundary layer equation has been obtained by homotopy analysis method (HAM). The solutions are compared with the available numerical results obtained by Nazar et al. [Nazar R, Amin N, Filip D, Pop I. Unsteady boundary layer flow in the region of the stagnation point on a stretching sheet. Int J Eng Sci 2004;42:1241–53] and a good agreement is found. The convergence region is also computed which shows the validity of the HAM solution.     

Analysis of a FEM/BEM coupling method for transonic flow computations

A sensitive issue in numerical calculations for exterior flow problems, e.g.around airfoils, is the treatment of the far field boundary conditions on a computational domain which is bounded. In this paper we investigate this problem for two-dimensional transonic potential flows with subsonic far field flow around airfoil profiles. We take the artificial far field boundary in the subsonic flow region. In the far field we approximate the subsonic potential flow by the Prandtl-Glauert linearization. The latter leads via the Green representation theorem to a boundary integral equation on the far field boundary. This defines a nonlocal boundary condition for the interior ring domain. Our approach leads naturally to a coupled finite element/boundary element method for numerical calculations. It is compared with local boundary conditions. The error analysis for the method is given and we prove convergence provided the solution to the analytic transonic flow problem around the profile exists.

     

Modeling of the base of a hydraulic structure with constant flow velocity sections and a curvilinear confining layer

We construct the underground contour of an embedded rectangular dam, whose corners are rounded by curves of constant flow velocity. We consider the case of a water-permeable base underlain by a curvilinear confining layer with a horizontal part, whereas the remainder parts of the layer are characterized by a constant flow velocity. We obtain an analytical solution to the corresponding mixed problem of the theory of analytic functions, we present results of numerical computations and consider the limiting case studied earlier by P. Ya. Polubarinova-Kochina and I. N. Kochina.     

Analytical solution of a spatially variable coefficient advection–diffusion equation in up to three dimensions

Analytical solutions are provided for the two- and three-dimensional advection–diffusion equation with spatially variable velocity and diffusion coefficients. We assume that the velocity component is proportional to the distance and that the diffusion coefficient is proportional to the square of the corresponding velocity component. There is a simple transformation which reduces the spatially variable equation to a constant coefficient problem for which there are available a large number of known analytical solutions for general initial and boundary conditions. These solutions are also solutions to the spatially variable advection–diffusion equation. The special form of the spatial coefficients has practical relevance and for divergent free flow represent corner or straining flow. Unlike many other analytical solutions, we use the transformation to obtain solutions of the spatially variable coefficient advection–diffusion equation in two and three dimensions. The analytical solutions, which are simple to evaluate, can be used to validate numerical models for solving the advection–diffusion equation with spatially variable coefficients. For numerical schemes which cannot handle flow stagnation points, we provide analytical solution to the spatially variable coefficient advection–diffusion equation for two-dimensional corner flow which contains an impermeable flow boundary. The impermeable flow boundary coincides with a streamline along which the fluid velocity is finite but the concentration vanishes. This example is useful for validating numerical schemes designed to predict transport around a curved boundary.     

On the numerical solution of the flow between a rotating and a stationary disk

The flow between two co-axial, infinite disks, one rotating with constant angular velocity and one stationary is treated in this paper. The problem is reduced to that of finding the solution of a two-point boundary value for a sixth order nonlinear ordinary differential equation and three boundary conditions at each of a finite interval. The numerical solutions are obtained by using a fourth order Runge-Kutta integration scheme in modification due to Gill and in conjunction with a modified shooting method to correct the initial guesses at one boundary. The numerical calculations for different Reynolds numbers are carried out. The results obtained by this method are compared with available results. The comparison shows excellent agreement.     

Boundary element solution of the two-dimensional groundwater flow equation with stochastic free surface boundary condition

An innovative approach to the approximate solution of stochastic partial differential equations in groundwater flow is presented. The method uses a formulation of the Ito's lemma in Hilbert spaces to derive partial differential equations satisfying the moments of the solution process. Since the moments equations are deterministic, they could be solved by any analytical or numerical method existing in the literature. This permits the analysis and solution of stochastic partial differential equations occurring in two-dimensional or three-dimensional domains of any geometrical shape. The method is tested for the first time in the present paper through a practical application in a sandy phreatic aquifer at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, Ontario, Canada. The equation solved is the two-dimensional LaPlace equation with a dynamic, randomly perturbed, free surface boundary condition. The moments equations are derived and solved by using the boundary integral equation method. A comparison is made with a previous analytical solution obtained by applying the randomly forced one-dimensional Boussinesq equation, and some observations on modeling procedures are given.     

Nanoscale Poiseuille flow of charged particles

We consider the convection-diffusion process of charged particles in a fluid which is described by the Navier-Stokes equations. Assuming a Hagen-Poiseuille flow profile, a one-dimensional model is derived. For stationary cases, the positivity of the concentrations is proven. Unique equilibrium solutions are shown to exist for a certain range of Dirichlet boundary data. Based on the one-dimensional model and their analytical solution, numerical simulations are presented for several test cases.